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Archer Aviation (ACHR) to Post Q2 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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Archer Aviation Inc. (ACHR - Free Report) is slated to report second-quarter 2024 results on Aug 8 after the closing bell. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 20.69% in the last reported quarter.

However, Archer Aviation has a negative four-quarter average earnings surprise of 19.29%. Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to be reflected in the upcoming quarterly results.

Factors to Note

In May 2024, Archer Aviation achieved the completion of its high-volume battery pack manufacturing line at its San Jose, CA, production facilities. This will help ACHR in the planned production ramp-up of its Midnight electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.  We may expect the upcoming results to reflect more benefits of this manufacturing line setup.

Archer Aviation Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Archer Aviation Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Archer Aviation Inc. price-eps-surprise | Archer Aviation Inc. Quote

Moreover, in June, the company received its Part 135 Air Carrier & Operator Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration, which allows ACHR to start commercial operations of its Midnight aircraft. Once Archer Aviation releases its quarterly results, we shall get more updates on Midnight’s progress during the quarter to be reported.

With the company progressing efficiently toward its target to commercialize the Midnight aircraft in 2025, ACHR is likely to have incurred notable engineering development expenses to build and test the aircraft in the second quarter. This, in turn, is likely to have increased Archer Aviation’s operating expenses, thereby weighing on its quarterly earnings performance.

However, the technological advancement that ACHR has achieved over the past few years while developing the Midnight jet is likely to have provided it with operational efficiency, thereby aiding its quarterly bottom line.

The company’s cash flows from operating activities have been affected in the past couple of quarters by its cash investments to support the growth of its research and development activities related to its eVTOL aircraft, as well as the general and administrative functions necessary to support such activities. As Archer Aviation has not yet delivered any of its eVTOL jets, we expect its second-quarter results to reflect a similar trend for its cash flow figure.

Q2 Expectations

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Archer Aviation’s second-quarter earnings is pegged at a loss of 28 cents per share, which indicates an improvement from the year-ago quarter’s reported loss of 62 cents per share.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for ACHR this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here, as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: ACHR has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Currently, Archer Aviation carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

A Stock to Consider

Below, we have mentioned the following player from the same sector that has the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in the upcoming release.

Curtiss-Wright Corp. (CW - Free Report) is slated to report its second-quarter 2024 results on Aug 7 after market close. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.42% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CW’s second-quarter earnings stands at $2.24 per share, which suggests a 4.2% improvement from the second-quarter 2023 reported figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter sales is pegged at $736.2 million, which implies a 4.5% increase from that reported in the prior-year quarter.

Recent Defense Releases

Teledyne Technologies Inc. (TDY - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $4.58 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.49 by 2%. However, the bottom line declined 1.9% from $4.67 recorded in the year-ago quarter.

Total sales were $1.37 billion, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.38 billion by 0.2%. The top line also dropped 3.6% from $1.42 billion reported in the year-ago quarter.

Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $7.11 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.45 by 10.2%. The bottom line also improved 5.6% from the year-ago quarter's recorded figure of $6.73.

Net sales were $18.12 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $17.10 billion by 6%. The top line also increased 8.6% from $16.69 billion reported in the year-ago quarter.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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